Danish footballer who plays for English club Brentford, Christian Eriksen says it’s like a miracle to be able to play football once more following collapsing while playing for his country at Euro 2020 last summer.
Denmark were playing Finland in their Euro opener on June 12, delayed for a year due to Covid, when the midfielder collapsed on the pitch in the 41st minute. He received CPR and following 15 minutes of treatment he was transported on a stretcher. Eriksen was awake in hospital and, following a delay of around three hours, the match resumed with Finland winning 1–0.
« I remember everything except the five minutes“, he explained. ” I was told followingwards that it was five minutes, otherwise I remember everything – the throw-in, the ball that hit my knee and then I don’t know what happened following. » He told the BBC. ” Then I woke up with people around me and felt the pressure on my chest, trying to catch my breath, then I woke up – opened my eyes and saw people around me , I didn’t really understand what was going on. »
The 29-year-old former Inter Milan and Tottenham footballer is fitted with an implanted automatic defibrillator (ICD), a type of pacemaker, following suffering cardiac arrest during the tournament last summer. He has now joined Premier League club Brentford on a six-month deal.
“At that point, I had no idea what had happened, and then it crossed my mind: ‘Did something happen with my legs? Did I break my back? Can I lift my leg?’ – all the little things I was trying to do to see what was going on. »he said. “Then in the ambulance I heard someone say ‘how long had he been unconscious’ and someone said ‘five minutes’ and that was the first time I heard that I was unconscious. »he added.
When asked if it would feel like a miracle to come back, Eriksen added: “ Certainly. I think that will become more and more obvious the closer it gets to a real game – being in a stadium, being in a game, you feel all the emotion and adrenaline that comes with it. »
« The first thing is to show gratitude.”Eriksen told BBC Sport.
« To the people around me, the teammates, the doctors first in the field, the team doctors and paramedics then in the hospital, for having done everything and checked everything. Then all the messages from people to show me their support and what my family has been through. It was really nice to see all the messages of gratitude. I’m very lucky and I said to their face, I’m very happy that they did what they did otherwise I wouldn’t be there. »
He added: ” For me, it was bad luck in a lucky place. I was hoping it wouldn’t happen to anyone, never thought it would happen to me when it happened but at the place it happened I was lucky with the people around me acting so fast. I was really grateful that the doctors were there. I was lucky to have all the possibilities around me. They had every possibility to get me back so quickly and I am 100% grateful to them. »
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Eriksen says he feels he is in better shape now than before the incident. ” I won’t change my style of play“, added Eriksen. ” I had time to be disciplined in the last six months to do extras, so even now I may be in a better state than before, I just miss football. I feel like me so I don’t see why I can’t come back to the same level. »
